The potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on global antimicrobial and biocide resistance: An AMR Insights global perspective

Copyright © The Author(s) 2021. The COVID-19 pandemic presents a serious public health challenge in all countries. However, repercussions of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections on future global health are still being investigated, including the pandemic’s potential effect on the emergence and spread of global antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Critically ill COVID-19 patients may develop severe complications, which may predispose patients to infection with nosocomial bacterial and/or fungal pathogens, requiring the extensive use of antibiotics. However, antibiotics may also be inappropriately used in milder cases of COVID-19 infection. Further, concerns such as increased biocide use, antimicrobial stewardship/infection control, AMR awareness, the need for diagnostics (including rapid and point-of-care diagnostics) and the usefulness of vaccination could all be components shaping the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic. In this publication, the authors present a brief overview of the COVID-19 pandemic and associated issues that could influence the pandemic’s effect on global AMR

Acoustic Microscopy Wall Thickness Measurements on Nickel Based Superalloy Gas Turbine Blades

In the manufacture of hollow jet engine turbine blades, monitoring the wall thickness is an important component of quality control. Because of the inaccessibility of the inner air channel to mechanical probing, ultrasonics provides one of the few means by which the necessary measurements can be done. The complex shape of the blades and the fact that they are often acoustically anisotropic make this a challenging problem. Alternative techniques have been investigated[1] for the wall thickness measurements but ultrasonics still presents the best option, and hence the continued interest in this problem[2].</p

Fluorescence x-ray absorption fine structure studies of Fe-Ni-S and Fe-Ni-Si melts to 1600 K

We report Ni K-edge fluorescence x-ray absorption fine structure spectra (XAFS) for Fe₀.₇₅Ni₀.₀₅S₀.₂₀ and Fe₀.₇₅Ni₀.₀₅S₀.₂₀ ternary alloys from room temperature up to 1600 K. A high-temperature furnace designed for these studies incorporates two x-ray transparent windows and enables both a vertical orientation of the molten sample and a wide opening angle, so that XAFS can be measured in the fluorescence mode with a detector at 90° with respect to the incident x-ray beam. An analysis of the Ni XAFS data for these two alloys indicates different local structural environments for Ni in Fe₀.₇₅Ni₀.₀₅S₀.₂₀ and Fe₀.₇₅Ni₀.₀₅S₀.₂₀ melts, with more Ni-Si coordination than Ni-S coordination persisting from room temperature through melting. These results suggest that light elements such as S and Si may impact the structural and chemical properties of Fe-Ni alloys with a composition similar to the earth’s core.6 page(s

Volume thermal expansion along the jadeite&#8211;diopside join

An in situ single-crystal high-temperature X-ray diffraction study was performed on clinopyroxene crystals along the jadeite, (NaAlSi2O6 Jd)\u2013diopside (CaMgSi2O6 Di) join. In particular, natural samples of jadeite, diopside, P2/n omphacite and three C2/c synthetic samples with intermediate composition (i.e., Jd80, Jd60, Jd40) were investigated. In order to determine the unit-cell volume thermal expansion coefficient (\u3b1V), the unit-cell parameters for all these compositions have been measured up to c.a. 1,073 K. The evolution of the unit-cell volume thermal expansion coefficient (\u3b1V) along the Jd\u2013Di join at different temperatures has been calculated by using a modified version of the equation proposed by Holland and Powell (J Metamorph Geol 16(3):309\u2013343, 1998). The equation aV(303K,1bar) = 2.68(3) 7 10-5 + [1.1(1) 7 10-8 7 XJd]-[7.1(1.7) 7 10-10 7 X2 Jd] obtained from the \u3b1V at room-T (i.e., \u3b1V303K,1bar) allows us to predict the room-T volume thermal expansion for Fe-free C2/c clinopyroxenes with intermediate composition along the binary join Jd-Di. The observed \u3b1V value for P2/n omphacite \u3b1V(303K,1bar) = 2.58 (5) 7 10-5 K-1 was compared with that recalculated for disordered C2/c omphacite published by Pandolfo et al. (Phys Chem Miner 1\u201310, 2012) [\u3b1V(303K,1bar) = 2.4(5) 7 10-5 K-1]. Despite the large e.s.d.\u2019s for the latter, the difference of both values at room-T is small, indicating that convergent ordering has practically no influence on the room-T thermal expansion. However, at high-T, the smaller thermal expansion coefficient for the C2/c sample with respect to the P2/n one with identical composition could provide further evidence for its reduced stability relative to the ordered one

Thermoelastic properties of ScB2, TiB2, YB4 and HoB4: experimental and theoretical studies

High-pressure X-ray diffraction in ScB2, TiB2, YB4 and HoB4 powders and single crystals has been studied using synchrotron radiation as well as conventional X-rays. The experimental results are supported by calculations using density functional theory. ScB2, YB4 and HoB4 are hard materials (bulk modulus 180–200 GPa), while TiB2 may be classified as superhard (bulk modulus about 260 GPa). We report here first experimental and theoretical determinations of the bulk modulus for HoB4 (195(5) and 198.2 GPa, respectively), and first experimental values of the bulk modulus for ScB2 (196(2) GPa) and YB4 (185(4) GPa). No pressure-induced phase transformations are observed in any of the above borides up to about 20 GPa. A continuous temperature-driven orthorhombic distortion is observed for HoB4 below 285 K. Values of the thermal expansion coefficient are reported for ScB2 and HoB4 at 293, 200 and 100 K. The thermoelastic behavior is explained in terms of bonding characteristics